#22, HOW TO GET PASTEL HAIR (DARK TO LIGHT) - SILVER LILAC -

Hey guys!
What's up y'all? Today I will share you my experiences and the processes that I've gone through when I was bleaching and dyeing my hair silver lilac (note: I wrote this tutorial a couple weeks ago when I had silver lilac hair. My hair is now light brown, but I didn't want to delete this blog post, so I thought let's finish this and post it for you guish). I've been wanting this haircolour for ages, but I never knew how to achieve this and I also wasn't quite sure if it would be ever possible to get this colour since my hair is quite dark (naturally). I also didn't want to damage my hair that much, since I've been dyeing my hair for quite a few times already, but I thought you know what.. yolo, let's just do it... well, not exactly like that, but I've been thinking waaaay too long about it and I've done so many researches on the internet in the past couple months and now I've finally made my decision. I don't have any regrets and I'm really happy with the results. And since I don't want to end up with a 'what-if' feeling, I just went for it! So, if you're interesting in getting silver lilac hair then keep on reading :)

PS: I'm not a proffesional hairdresser or something like that, I just want to share my experiences.

Here's a before picture:

And after:

So here's what I used to bleach my hair:

- bleach powder (blue)

- a 40 volume developer

After bleaching my hair twice I toned it with:

- purple shampoo

- purple toner / silver toner

After toning:

- purple hairdye + conditioner = lilac hairdye (semi-permanent)

So now I'll tell you about the processes that I've gone through step by step.

Let's get started!

1. Bleaching your hair
The first step is to bleach your hair (obviously). I used blue bleach powder mixed with a 40 volume developer to bleach my hair. A 40 volume developer is a quite strong developer, therefore the process will get faster and the results will be much lighter (in comparison to the lower developers of course, 10 volume is the lowest).

Before you bleach your hair you have to make sure to have enough bleach and developers in stock. It's always better to have more bleach and developers at home than you actually need, because when I was bleaching my hair halfway I was running out of developers, so I had to mix the bleach powder with conditioner, which isn't really bad, but it's less stronger than the developer. Therefore, the results will be a few shades darker than with the parts you bleached with developer. However, my hair got quite light after using this, but if you look closely you could see the difference between the developer-part and conditioner-part in my hair. Overall, it turned out quite well and equally!

TIP: If you're going to bleach your hair make sure to start off with dirty, oily and greasy hair. You will damage your hair less than starting off with clean and fresh hair. It sounds dirty, but it really helps! Or you can apply some coconut oil to your hair 1 hour before you will bleach your hair. This will protect your hair (not completely of coure, but less damaging).

 - before bleaching (my hair was like a dark brown color with a red undertone (and my ends were ombre) -

- during bleaching (you can see that my hair is already blonde) -

1a > How to mix the developer with the bleach powder:
So, when you are going to mix the two things together you should first get a plastic bowl or something else to put the stuff in it. Then just pore a few scoops of bleach powder in the bowl, add some developer to it and mix it till you get a thick but spreadable consistency. If it's too watery then you should add some more powder to it and if it's too thick you should add some more developer in it.

1b > How to apply the bleach to your hair:
The best way to apply bleach to your hair (in my experience) is to begin at the bottom part of your hair and then work your way up to the roots. The ends of your hair will take the longest part to proceed, because there isn't much heat over there (compared to the top part of your hair). Bleach works faster at a higher temperature, so in this case it works pretty fast when you're applying bleach to the roots of your hair because your head produces much heat, like the rest of your body. So when you're applying the bleach to the bottom part of your hair first you'll get a more equal result.

It will also hurt a little bit when you're applying the bleach to your roots, because it will get really hot (it feels like your head is on fire, but don't worry it's only for 30 minutes).

TIP: When you're done applying the bleach to your hair you should make a bun, take some aluminum foil and wrap it around your head, because then the process will get a bit faster. The aluminum foil will keep the heat together around your head (remember: bleach works faster on high temperature).

1c > Bleaching time
I've let the bleach sit in my hair for like 1 hour and 30 minutes. It took me 1 hour to apply everything equally to my hair and after that I've waited 30 more minutes to let develope it. I don't recommend leaving the bleach for more than two hours in your hair, unless your hair is super long (because then it will take longer to apply the bleach to your hair). I'd say, leave the bleach 30 minutes in your hair after you're done applying the bleach to your hair. Make sure to check your hair every 10 minutes. You can always wash it out earlier.

1d > Result after bleaching once:

After washing the bleach out of my hair it turned out like a really yellow colour, which I didn't really like. But I was quite satisfied with how light it got! My hair didn't get that much damaged. It was actually still in good condition (sorry for my awkward face).

- my roots got really light -

- result after bleaching once -

- in daylight (it's really yellow) -

TIP: Before you're going to bleach your hair again make sure to wait at least 2 weeks. Your hair needs to rest before you bleach it again. 

OPTIONAL: Use a hairmask to nourish the hair.

2. Second time bleaching

I had to bleach my hair twice, because it just wasn't light enough to apply the purple dye to my hair. Just repeat the same process as you did before. If your hair is like a white/pale yellow color then you should skip this part.

OPTIONAL: Start off with dirty hair again. Just don't wash it for like 3 to 5 days. You will damage your hair less.

2a > Result after bleaching twice:
My hair got really light when I bleached it for the second time. It was like a really white/pale yellow colour. Good enough to tone it with purple toner and purple shampoo. But my hair was really damaged. When I came out the shower it literally felt like wet noodles. And when it was dry it felt like straw. But after one week it felt a lot better, because of all the haircare stuff. So don't worry, it will get much better after using deep conditioner and hairmasks.

(result after bleaching twice and using purple toner once)

3. Tone it (with purple toner)
The next step is to tone your hair with purple toner. I diy'd the purple toner, because I didn't know where to get that. I just mixed some white conditioner with a tiny bit of purple hairdye (la riché directions hair dye in violet) in a plastic bowl. The colour of the consistency should be a lilac colour. Apply this equally to your hair and let it sit for like 5 - 10 minutes. The purple toner takes the yellow parts out of your hair. You can use this everytime you wash your hair.

If you don't want to use white conditioner mixed with purple hairdye then you can buy something like this:

It says 'silver toner', but I think it's the same as purple toner, because the color of the consistency is like a pale lilac colour. (I got this from my friend after I diy'd my toner) 

3a > Result after using silver toner: It didn't had that much effect on my hair when I applied it for the first time, I still have some yellow parts in my hair. But using it after 5 times it worked. There are still some yellow parts in my hair, but way less than before. So, silver toner works too!

- result after using purple toner once (it looks so freaking dry) I left it a little bit too long, so that's why it turned a bit lilac -

3b > Purple shampoo:
You can also use a purple shampoo to get rid of the yellow parts in your hair. Use this as a regular shampoo and massage the shampoo for like 5 minutes in your hair. Then rinse it out and use a conditioner after.

- purple shampoo -

4. Purple hair dye
So, when your hair has become white/pale/silver enough it's time to add some lilac to it! I used violet from the la riche directions hair dye. It's a semi permanent hair dye, so it won't last for a long time. After washing your hair once, it starts to fade a little bit already. I think after 4 hair washes it will fade out to your actual hair colour. I don't really mind actually, because it will turn out like a really pretty silver lilac washed out effect.

- la riché directions in violet -

If you want a pastel colour then you should buy a few shades darker, because then you can use it more often. If you're applying the dye to your hair you should first mix it with conditioner. The colour will get lighter and you don't have to use that much, only a little scoop. And apply the dye the same way as you did when you were bleaching your hair.

So here's the final result:

- it looks a bit pink-ish because of my t-shirt -

If you want to see more, I got a few more photo's on my insta: http://instagram.com/elliqa

5. Haircare (optional)
So, after all the bleaching and dyeing you should take good care of your hair now. Here are some tips/options you can use to take care for your hair:

Conditioner
Use a deep conditioner and apply it to the ends of your hair. Apply the leftovers to the rest of your hair and let the conditioner sit for like 5 - 10 minutes. Rinse it out and then rinse your hair with cold water.

Hairmask
Use a hairmask once a week. This will keep the hair healty.

Hair oil/Coconut oil
After showering use hair oil. Apply this to the ends of your hair and then let it dry. Apply the leftovers to the rest of your hair. This will nourish and protect the hair.

And that's how you can get pastel hair! You can basically apply every color to your hair if you want, because your hair is now light enough.

~ ~

I hope this was informative enough, otherwise let me know.

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments here below. I will answer them all :)

Also, if you have any hair tips/advice let me know!

Are you going to dye your hair silver lilac? What products do you use for your hair to keep it healthy?
Let me know :D